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Ericsson Italian 5G smart port findings presented at UN Global Goals Week

Ericsson’s connectivity and sustainability expertise in the smart port initiative at Livorno, Italy, has been highlighted to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN SDSN) as an example of how the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are being advanced. 

News
Oct 03, 2019
Crane loading containers on to a truck at a port

The Logistics of the future in Sustainable Smart Ports project – a collaboration between Ericsson, Telecom Italia, the ENI Enrico Mattei Foundation, the Port System Authority of the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea and the National Inter-University Consortium of Telecommunications – was presented to the United Nations Global Solutions Forum at Columbia University in New York on September 25, as part of the UN Climate Week. The case was presented by UN SDSN Italy.

The project has worked to define an innovative model to assess the introduction of new technologies such as 5G in port processes and explore how digital transformation can drive sustainable development.

Results indicate that 5G connectivity can generate about 60 direct and indirect benefits for the port system including: increase in competitiveness; increased safety for personnel; the sustainable growth of the port city; management of responsible business in logistics; and a positive environmental impact that is estimated in CO2 savings of 8.2 percent per year.

The Livorno initiative is part of the 5G Corealis technological project, a pan-European EU Commission project addressing digital transformation in ports with final aim to secure competitiveness and sustainability. In Livorno the benefits were measured towards the UN SDGs.

5G also enabled advanced services such as environmental monitoring, intelligent logistics and mobility, leading to energy savings.

Rossella Cardone, Head of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, Market Area Europe and Latin America, Ericsson says: “5G technology, artificial intelligence functionality, and Internet of Things solutions at the port of Livorno can optimize the logistics of operations and boost efficiency, which in turn helps cut down on emissions while keeping the workplace safe.

“Ports are fundamental to the global economy, responsible for up to 90 percent of goods being transferred all over the world. A wider adoption of 5G ports would therefore have a huge environmental impact.”

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